We OneFabDay girls are always on the hunt for a bargain, so we've long been fans of DoneDeal.ie.  The Wexford-based small-ads website is a treasure trove for the savvy shopper and has made buying and selling directly super-simple, like the way Daft.ie changed property (not a shameless plug for my old employer there 🙂 )

Since embarking on the wedding planning buzz, we've been keeping a keen eye on the wedding section, a must-view for the bargainista bride (and groom). There are loads of wedding related items for sale there, from designer wedding dresses to lanterns and candles. We thought we'd go rummaging and see what we could find...

Dress for Less

The search had to start with the Wedding Dress. DoneDeal has a really big selection of second-hand wedding dresses to choose from at all price points. You can pick yourself up a beautiful dress for just a couple of hundred euro and spend the rest on the party (or better again, the honeymoon!). This Jenny Packham Eloise gown is down to just €1000, which is a steal for such a high-end bridal designer. While the San Patrick dress below has €700 off the full price.

If you're in search of a specific designer dress, you could be in luck, for example searching for "Vera Wang" brings you to a great selection. Half price on one of those high end beauties really makes a difference , we found some with 2000-3000 off the retail price, so it's worth keeping an eye on the site to see what's coming online.

As well as the actual wedding dress, DoneDeal has a great selection of wedding wear for the whole bridal party from bridesmaid and flowergirl dresses to groomswear. The hunt for the bridesmaid dresses in particular can be pretty arduous, and expensive, so you could shave a few quid off the price by picking the dresses up second-hand. The big bridesmaid designers are well represented with Dessy, Lela Rose and Alfred Angelo dresses all listed, many of which are unworn for various reasons. We found the size 12 gown on the left for €100, it's by Natasha Millani and unworn, the one on the right is Dessy and €200. They are also often sold in bulk - 2/3 bridesmaid dresses together so there's extra saving to be made.

Aside from keeping everyone looking good for less, you can also pick up some great decorative items for the wedding reception and ceremony. We all know how expensive all those extra touches like lanterns and ribbons, birdcages and china can be, so getting them at a fraction of the price eases some of the guilt. There are good deals on red carpet hire if you're in the market for it, or for the chinese paper lanterns to set alight in the night sky as a treat for the guests after dark, you can get good bulk discounts.

Hidden Gems

And last but definitely not least, one for the lads to have a look through while they're pretending to look at cars or motorbikes or whatever it is they do online (and for me the most fascinating section), are the jewellery ads. There are dozens of engagement rings for sale alongside wedding bands, eternity rings and miscellaneous necklaces and earrings. It seems a mix of unwanted gifts, break-ups and the typical male "chose the wrong style" but whatever the reason, for the savvy (male) shopper there are some real bargains to be had on there - rings down from €7,500 to €2,000 for example, or this beautiful solitaire has €8,000 off! Bought at nearly €21,000, could be some lucky girl's for €13,000 plus change. Some smart Farmer will pick up that bargain.

Or if you're suffering wedding planning fatigue you might want to skip the wedding altogether and just buy a husband